In a new international assessment, Morocco received mixed scores regarding its budget governance. The evaluation highlighted slight progress in transparency; however, the country still suffers from a significant lack of citizen engagement, along with limited parliamentary oversight and accountability. DR ‹ › The 2025 Open Budget Index, released by the International Budget Partnership, shows that Morocco scored 51 out of 100 on transparency, 24 on public participation, and 51 on oversight. Covering 83 countries, the index is the world's only independent research tool based on international standards to assess how open governments are with their citizens on budget decisions, including taxes, public services, and debt levels. While Morocco's transparency score of 51 is close to its 2023 result, it remains below the 61-point threshold considered «sufficient» for enabling the public to understand budget decisions and engage in informed debate. The report notes one notable improvement: Morocco published its «Pre-Budget Statement» online for the first time, after failing to do so in previous rounds. However, other key documents are still either not produced or not released in a timely manner. In the Middle East and North Africa region, Jordan ranked first with 62 points, followed by Egypt (59), Morocco, Lebanon (22), Palestine (15), Tunisia (11), and Libya (2). Extremely Limited Public Participation The report highlights public participation as Morocco's weakest area, with a score of 24 out of 100. This places the country behind Egypt (35), though ahead of Jordan (18) and Tunisia (6). Although the Ministry of Economy and Finance has introduced «pre-budget consultations» and «electronic consultations» during the budget process, the report deems these efforts insufficient. It recommends expanding participation to include any civil society organization or individual wishing to contribute, including marginalized groups, either directly or through representative bodies. As for parliament, while it holds public hearings during the budget approval process, members of the public and civil society organizations are currently not allowed to testify, whether on the draft budget or audit reports. The International Budget Partnership recommends that parliament address this limitation and also calls on the Court of Accounts to establish formal mechanisms enabling public input in setting audit and investigation priorities. In terms of oversight, Morocco's score of 51 indicates that parliament and the Court of Accounts provide only «limited oversight». The report also notes the absence of an independent fiscal institution in Morocco, bodies that are internationally recognized for providing nonpartisan and independent analysis to both the executive and legislative branches. The report concludes with several recommendations, including publishing audit and year-end reports online in a timely manner, improving the quality of the budget proposal with more detailed data on economic forecasts and long-term fiscal sustainability, ensuring that the Ministry of Economy and Finance's website is accessible to Moroccans abroad without geographic restrictions, and making published PDF documents searchable to facilitate access to information.
